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Investor from Anchorage, AK

replied about 1 month ago

@Spencer Cornelia My god! what a pain in the ***! I just posted about my first BRRRR strategy, but I left out all of the details about dealing with the title company. You are %100 correct about the title company not giving a **** about me. They closed on mine over 2 weeks after we were supposed to. It is very frustrating. But now we know. We learned to expect that now. I wish the people who worked at the tit;e company got paid commission, they would be busting there *** to try to close on time.

As someone who has not yet inked their first real estate deal, and also lives in Vegas, I found this post and the comments within to be hugely valueable and educational. So I thank you @Spencer Cornelia for taking the time to write this up in the detail that you did.

I was recently purusing Zillow out of curiosity and was "practicing" running the numbers, back of the napkin style, on <200k SFR . To be honest it seemed that all of the listings I analyzed were horrific deals. Initially I was doubted my math but the contributors to the post seem to have confirmed that profitable deals are few and far between in Vegas.

Flipper/Rehabber from Las Vegas, NV

replied about 1 month ago

@Eric B. welcome to the community. The Vegas market is pretty brutal if you're only looking for properties that are listed on MLS. It's great experience to do what you're doing, but if you want to find deals to move on, you'll need to go off-market. The Outback has a Christmas mixer tonight if you're looking to network. I'll be there, along with other Vegas investors.

Professional from Anaheim, California

If I was in Vegas, I would attend the mix, sounds like fun. I've been privy to some details Spencer's transaction before he posted on address and details on BP. As he reached out to me, and I gave him my contact for inspections. Once, inspection passed, then I already knew that 4plex was sound.

Eric - You can run all the numbers you want on any deal from Zillow, Redfin, or MLS for SFR's, and the numbers will not look good for cashflow. The best cashflow is 4plex due to scale, and financing, but still numbers are not what they used to be. The part that you are missing is the timing, meaning best time for these numbers were in 2012. Then still good 2012-2016. Now, prices practically doubled, thus cashflow goes down and higher expenses towards financing.

Investor from Las Vegas, NV

@Spencer Cornelia and @Jon Lee , I am super bummed I didn't check this until today! I would love to go to the next mixer in the new year! I will be keep my eye out on the events tab moving forward. How was the event last night? I hope there was a good turn out.

@Terry Lao - yeah I was looking just to practice to become familiar with the numbers and get quicker at it with hopes that it won't be the rate limiting step in me pursuing future deals. Talking to locals in Vegas, I have heard similar reports about how now is a pretty terrible time finding good deals in real estate. It seems that those who did buy in 2012, even if by luck, have at least 100% appreciation. Because of this, I have an inkling that out of state may be the best way to get started... which of course seems way more intimidating.

from Auburn, Washington

replied about 1 month ago

@Spencer Cornelia FYI the Phoenix suns may be looking at Seattle or Vegas to move their team. I know some mention statistically sports teams don’t make a city better or property values increase, (which I don’t believe) this could be a very good move you’ve made. Hey if Inglewood California could make way for their new football stadium and get the increase in rents why not Vegas?

Professional from Anaheim, California

Hindsight is always 20/20. Even when I bought my 4plexs in 2014-16, there was still a sense of apprehension. There will always be risk no matter the year, timing, situation, because nothing is guaranteed.

If you want to be safe with no risk, then put your money in the bank and get around 2%. Back in 2012, it was like .01%.

Brandon of Bigger Pockets says that 9 out of 10 people on BP will never do a real estate transaction.

from Springville, Utah

Spencer thank you for sharing your experience. I have yet to purchase my first rental property but I am hoping to this next year. Your story really shines the light on what can go wrong throughout the buying process and how to overcome all the roadblocks that come up. Your perseverance through the process was incredible. It's inspired me to stop talking about buying a rental property and start taking actionable steps to make it happen.

Flipper/Rehabber from Las Vegas, NV

replied about 1 month ago

@Tye Foster thanks for the kind words. This game would be easy if it was just purchasing a property off the MLS and closing within a couple of weeks with no issues. But the reality is that many variables enter the mix when you're dealing with people, and sadly, most are out of your control.

Example: I just bought a house in Cincinnati to flip. Everything was lined up to close on November 30th. But the seller's side involved lawyers and a court. And we didn't close until the 10th because of their side needing court approval to transfer title to me. Which sucks because those extra 10 days are included in my HML and I couldn't begin work.

from Spring Lake, North Carolina

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